Senior Year at North Shore University
by Millemini
Summary: AU story. Annie & Auggie are both seniors in college. Auggie is (reluctantly) returning to school after losing his sight in a car accident during his sophomore year. Annie has transferred from Georgetown to get a fresh start away from her possessive ex-boyfriend. They meet, become friends and end up guiding each other out of their self-imposed shells. (I still suck at summaries...)
1. Chapter 1

**_I know I said I was taking a hiatus from the site, but the muse didn't agree with me. She started feeding me this story and I couldn't resist it, so I started writing it out. _**

**_It's another AU story - this time Annie and Auggie meet in college at the fictional North Shore University in Northbrook, Illinois (which is close to Glencoe where Auggie grew up)._**

**_POV change between Auggie and Annie - I've tried my best to make it clear when there's a change of POV._**

**_Another thing; I'm not too familiar with the American college system, apart from what I've seen in movies/TV and the little I learned when I spent my senior year of high school as an exchange student in the US years ago. I've tried to do some research before writing this story, but I'm sure I get some stuff wrong. Feel free to correct me in a PM or review - constructive criticism is always welcome._**

**_DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything - just love to play with the characters!_**

* * *

**August "Auggie" Anderson:****  
**_Computer science major at North Shore University. Grew up in a tight knit family in Glencoe, Illinois. They youngest of five boys. A car accident during his sophomore year left him blind and he's been living with his parents and studying online since he finished his rehab. He's now going (reluctantly) leaving the safe bubble of his childhood home and moving into his own apartment and going back to school for his senior year._

**Anne Catherine "Annie"** Walker:  
_Linguistics major at North Shore University. Army brat that lived in 10 states and five countries before she graduated high school. Transferred from Georgetown University to get a fresh start away from her possessive ex-boyfriend._

**-Chapter 1-**

Auggie Anderson was more nervous than he liked to admit. Part of him wanted to call his counselor at North Shore University and tell her that he'd changed his mind; that he'd stick to online courses for his senior year like he'd done for the past three semesters. He didn't. Instead he slipped his MacBook Pro into its protective sleeve and placed in his well worn leather messenger bag and made sure he had his refreshable Braille display, headphones and all the cords he needed for his equipment. With a nervous sigh he put on his brown leather jacket and hung his bag across his chest. He grabbed his cane and keys off the small table by the door and double-checked that his iPhone and wallet were in his pockets before he stepped into the hallway.

As he walked down the street toward the campus he felt the knot in his stomach growing bigger. It had been more than three years since the last time he'd attended a lecture on-campus. After the accident that had left him blind he'd spent weeks in the hospital and then months in rehab, learning to live without his sight. He'd opted to finish his junior year doing online classes and he'd intended on doing his senior year online too. That was until his parents had told him that he wasn't spending another year wallowing in self pity in his childhood home in Glencoe and that he needed to get back to school and start living again. He'd tried to argue with them, but to no avail. Where Auggie found an excuse they came up with a solution.

When they realized there was no way Auggie would agree to move into a dorm again they helped him find an apartment and had one of his trainers from rehab help him set it up for his needs. Another trainer had helped him map out the area around his apartment and the campus. His mother promised to take care of his laundry and help him shop for groceries, but otherwise he was on his own. He'd been living there for little over a week and he had adjusted pretty well. Things weren't as daunting as he thought they'd be and he knew that if he needed help with something his parents and older brothers were all just a phone call away.

Now he was nervous about how people would react to the new and not-so-improved version of Auggie Anderson. Most of his friends had graduated, but he knew that a couple of his buddies and a few acquaintances from his days on the wrestling and swim teams were still there. After crossing the street he paused on the sidewalk, by the entrance to the campus and took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

* * *

Annie Walker was excited about her first day of classes at North Shore University. She'd transferred to North Shore from Georgetown to get a fresh start after a rough breakup and to get away from her possessive ex-boyfriend. She had mostly covered the required subjects for her major; she just needed a few general credits to graduate. Her counselor at Georgetown and her older sister had tried to get her to stay at Georgetown for her senior year, insisting that she could change schools when she moved on to graduate school, but she had already made up her mind. So far she didn't regret the decision; Northbrook seemed like a nice town and the people she'd met so far had been friendly. She dumped her laptop, notebook and pencil case into a tote bag and after checking her appearance in the mirror she headed out of her dorm room. Annie was glad she'd been able to get a single room; not that she minded having a roommate, but she looked forward to having some more privacy this year.

Annie rushed into the auditorium just before the lecture started; she'd taken a wrong turn and had ended up on the wrong side of campus and had to run all the way back. To her relief there was a free aisle seat on one of the back rows and sat down just as the professor entered the room. He spent the first few minutes welcoming them and then explained that they'd be working in pairs for their first project.

"When I call your name please stand up. Get a good look at your partner and as soon as I've called everyones name we will change places so everyone is sitting with their partner. Understood? Good."

The professor picked up a piece of paper and got started.

"Adams, Mark, your partner is Zimmerman, Cathy."

"Allen, Tina and Yang, Mae."

"Anderson, August." A tall, dark guy stood up. Annie noticed he looked tense. "Walker, Anne Catherine." Annie looked over to the guy and tried to make eye contact to no avail. Before she could think more about it the professor announced another pair and they both sat down again.

* * *

Auggie felt like the entire room was staring at him when the professor called his name and he stood up and he was relieved when he was able to sink back into his seat. It was situations like this he'd dreaded and hoped to avoid. About 15 minutes passed and then the professor told them to find their partners and he'd pass out their assignment. Auggie decided to stay in his seat and wait for Anne Cahterine Walker to find him; it wasn't like he'd be able to find her anyway. He heard the commotion as people started moving around the auditorium and the hum of voices as people started introducing themselves to their partners.

"August Anderson?" a female voice said to his right. He turned to face her.

"Yes?" he croaked out, a bit more tentatively than he'd intended.

"Annie Walker. I guess we'll be working together."

Auggie quickly stood and offered his right hand.

"Nice to meet you Annie. Please call me Auggie. The only person that calls me August is my mother, when she's upset with me."

A soft female hand shook his hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you too. Is this seat taken?"

"I'm going to guess that you're referring to the seat to my right. It's free."

"Huh?" Annie sounded confused. Apparently she hadn't picked up on his blindness. He'd been told that he was good at making eye contact, which apparently was common for people that lost their sight as adults, and that his eyes still looked normal. Part of him saw it as the ultimate compliment when new people didn't immediately notice that he was blind. Another part of him hated to explain his circumstances; it usually caused awkward situations. He grabbed his cane from the seat to his left, where he'd laid it next to his messenger bag, and held it up.

"I'm blind, so I can't see what you're pointing at."

"Oh…sorry, I didn't catch that. Yeah, I was pointing at the seat to your right," Annie replied. She sounded slightly flustered at first, but by the end of her sentence her voice was back to normal. "Looks like the lecture is about to start again, I guess we're about to find out what the assignment is."

Auggie nodded and smiled as he put the cane back in the seat next to him and sat down. He heard the rustle of clothes as Annie sat down next to him.

* * *

When Annie arrived back in her dorm room later that afternoon she was excited about the coming semester. She liked the professors she'd met so far and her fellow students seemed friendly enough. Auggie Anderson intrigued her; he was definitely cute by Annie's standards and he seemed like a warm and friendly person. She'd been a bit taken aback when he held up his cane and said he was blind, but that explained why she hadn't been able to make eye contact with him and why he'd waited for her to come to him. She looked forward to getting to know him better. They'd agreed to meet in the library the following morning to go over the assignment they'd be working on together. She had a feeling Creative Writing was about to become her favorite subject.

* * *

The following morning Auggie didn't feel nervous as he got ready to head to campus, just excited about meeting Annie Walker again. There was something about her that made him want to get to know her better. With a smile on his face he pulled the strap of his messenger bag over his head, grabbed his cane and keys and headed out of the door.

15 minutes later he was standing by the entrance to the library, half leaning on his cane, waiting for Annie to arrive. After a few minutes he heard footsteps rushing towards him.

"Good morning Auggie! Sorry I'm late," Annie said, sounding slightly out of breath.

"Good morning. Don't worry about it. Did you run over here?" he asked with smile on his face.

"Yeah, I overslept this morning. Forgot to set my alarm last night I think. I'm not much of a morning person to be honest. So, ready to get to work?"

"Yeah. Professor Davies emailed me the assignment after the lecture yesterday, so I read through it last night. It looks pretty interesting."

"I think so too. Uh, do you need me to guide you or something…or can you manage on your own?" She sounded a bit unsure, but Auggie was relieved that she was so straightforward and just asked. He flashed her a bright smile.

"If you don't mind, a little assistance would be great."

"Not at all. Just let me know what you need me to do."

Auggie quickly explained basic sighted guide technique to Annie and she allowed him to take her arm. He kept his cane diagonally in front of him as a bumper since it was the first time she was a sighted guide. He was relieved that she didn't make a big deal about his disability.

"Looks like a couple of the group rooms are available," she said as they walked into the library.

"Great!" Auggie exclaimed. That meant they would be able to talk freely instead of whispering.

He was surprised at how Annie easily guided him through the library. She placed his hand on the back of a chair and went back and closed the door. Auggie placed his messenger bag on the table in front of him and started setting up his computer. He heard Annie sit down across form him and he assumed she was setting up her computer as well. When he had everything set up he hung his headphones around his neck and booted up the laptop.

"Annie?"

"Yeah…" she mumbled distractedly.

"Is there somewhere to plug this in around here?" Auggie asked, holding up the power cord for his MacBook Pro.

"Yeah, there's two outlets on the wall in the middle of the table," she said as she gently guided his hand to the outlet. "Got it?"

Auggie found the outlet and plugged in his computer.

"Thanks Annie," he said with a genuine smile. He started to relax around her; he didn't feel any of the awkwardness he often felt around new people.

"That's quite the setup you've got there," Annie exclaimed.

"I'll show you how it works if you're curious," Auggie offered. He heard Annie get up and she sat down next to him.

"Awesome! If you haven't caught it by now I'm a pretty curious person," she said with a small laugh.

Auggie smiled in her direction and unplugged his headphones so Annie could hear the computer's voice too and started to show her how the screen reading software worked with the refreshable Braille display.

* * *

For the next few hours Annie and Auggie were so immersed in their work that both of them forgot about the time. It was well past noon when a loud growl from Annie's stomach startled both of them. Auggie pulled his headphones down to hang around his neck with an amused grin on his face.

"Are you hungry Miss Walker?" he asked. Annie felt her face going red and she was grateful that Auggie couldn't see her blushing.

"Since I overslept this morning I didn't eat breakfast," she admitted. "What about you? Are you ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind getting something to eat."

They packed up their things and headed out of the library. When they stepped into the hallway Annie started to walk toward the food court. She wasn't a huge fan of cafeteria food, but she wasn't familiar with other eateries in the area.

"Are you heading to the food court?" Auggie asked.

"Yeah, I thought we were going to eat lunch?"

"The last time I ate in the food court was when I was a freshman. How do you feel about some real food?"

"Sounds great, but I don't know the area very well."

"But I do," Auggie smirked, let go of Annie's arm and offered her his arm instead. Annie looped her arm with his and he turned them around and walked toward the exit with confident steps, cane sweeping in front of him. "Let's go to Allen's Tavern."

Annie giggled. "Lead the way Mister Anderson." Creative Writing was definitely her favorite subject.

* * *

_**What do you think? Like? Dislike?**_

_**Want to read more?**_

_**Please leave me a review! :o)**_

_**BTW: My plan for this story is to update once a week, probably Sunday or Monday. I might do more frequent updates from time to time, but I won't promise anything as work is crazy these days and **__**I just don't have the time to sit down and write out 1.500-2.000 word chapters in a day or two at the moment.**_. Because I enjoy writing too much to not do it I figure it's better to write a paragraph or three a day than nothing at all.


	2. Chapter 2

_**WOW! The reception for this story truly blew me away. I hadn't expected it at all. I've tried to respond to all of the reviews, but I know I've missed a few - sorry about that. THANK YOU for each and every review, follow and favorite alert - the muse loves them all. :o)**_

_**Here's the second chapter. Not much "action" - mostly conversation between A&A.**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs. Just love the characters and can't **_**_wait for season 4 to start!_**

* * *

**-Chapter 2-**

"Hey Annie, do you have any plans this evening?" Auggie asked Annie as their second week of classes was coming to an end. They were in one of the group rooms in the library, wrapping up on their Creative Writing assignment. It was due the following Monday.

"No, not really. Figured I could go down to the Tavern and have a few beers or something," Annie said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Well, I thought we could celebrate completing our first assignment together."

"And just how did you want to celebrate?" His tone was slightly teasing and a smile was evident in her voice.

"Dinner at my place and maybe a few drinks at the Tavern later. Or if you don't feel like going out we can just hang out and watch a movie or something." Auggie felt a bit nervous and he hoped Annie didn't read more into his invitation than it was. He had no intentions beyond becoming her friend; at least not for the time being. This was one of the times Auggie missed his sight; it would've been much easier if he'd been able to read Annie's body language. To his relief her response came quickly in a normal, happy tone.

"Sounds nice Auggie. Didn't really think of you as a foodie though."

Auggie ducked his head self-consciously and he carefully considered his reply before he decided to go with the truth.

"I'm not. Mom helps me with my grocery shopping and when she came over yesterday she brought me a dish of her homemade lasagna. It just needs 15 to 20 minutes in the oven and it's ready to serve. It's too much for me to finish on my own."

"A home cooked meal? My mouth is watering already."

* * *

As Annie was walking down the street towards Auggie's apartment she was feeling both excited and a little bit nervous. This would be the first time she and Auggie really spent time together outside of studying together and a couple of lunches. The first two weeks of the semester had been busy for both of them and Annie was happy that they finally had an opportunity to get to know each other better. She'd been intrigued by Auggie from day one and over the past couple of weeks he'd told her little bits and pieces from that had only caused her interest getting to know him to be piqued further. She was a bit surprised when she reached the address Auggie had given her; it was a well-kept, modern five-story apartment building that looked much nicer than she'd expected.

A couple of minutes later she exited the elevator on the 3rd floor and headed down the hall to apartment B4. She rang the doorbell and a few moments later Auggie's voice came through the door.

"Who is it?"

"Annie."

The door slid open, revealing Auggie dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a black tailored shirt, a broad smile gracing his features. The sight brought a smile to her face; she thought Auggie was pretty good looking and now he'd obviously dressed up. At school he usually wore comfortably worn jeans and t-shirts or Henley shirts, so this was definitely a step up.

"Hi Auggie, you clean up nicely," Annie said with a smile.

"Um..thanks Annie. Come on in," he said as he stepped back and allowed her to enter. Her jaw dropped as she entered his spacious loft; it was bigger than she expected and the furniture was miles ahead of what she'd expected to find in a student's apartment.

"Wow, nice place you've got here!" Annie exclaimed as she slipped off her shoes and placed them next to the wall beside the door.

"Thanks. Can't take much credit for it, Mom and my sister in-law took care of the décor. It's not like it matters much to me." Annie noticed that Auggie looked a bit nervous

"They did a great job Auggie. It's very nice; I have to admit I'm a bit jealous. I wish I could afford to get an off campus apartment."

"If it wasn't for this," Auggie gestured to his eyes. "I wouldn't be able to afford it either. Are you hungry? The oven is warm, but I didn't want to put the lasagna in until you got here."

Auggie's statement puzzled Annie; she didn't understand why his blindness made it possible for him to afford a loft in a nice part of town, but she buried the urge to ask and filed the question away for now. Maybe she'd ask him after they'd gotten to know each other better.

"I'm a bit hungry, so go ahead. Let me know if I can help with anything."

"I've got it," Auggie said as he walked over to the fridge and opened the door. He quickly located a 6-pack and pulled out two beers. "Want a beer?"

"Thanks Auggie," Annie said, grabbing the beer from him. She leaned against the island in Auggie's kitchen and watched as he put the lasagna in the oven and set a timer with Braille markings before he grabbed his beer and turned toward her. Annie was amazed at how freely he moved around in his apartment. It was almost like he could see.

"I made a salad to go with it as well, I hope that's okay," Auggie said as he took a sip of his beer and leaned against the counter across from Annie.

"Sounds perfect," Annie said with a smile in her voice.

* * *

The thing Auggie had been most curious about since he met Annie was why she'd chosen to transfer from Georgetown to North Shore for her senior year; as far as he knew she had no connection to the area. After they'd eaten and cleared away the dishes they settled down on his couch, each with a beer in hand. Auggie decided to be bold and ask her about it.

"Annie, can I ask you something?" he started. He inwardly cringed at how unsure he came across as.

"Sure," she answered lightly. "Ask away!"

"Why did you transfer to North Shore? It's a decent school, but Georgetown is in a different league. Do you have family in the area?"

"It's sort of a long and messy story," Annie sighed.

"Listen, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to. I didn't mean to pry."

"Hey, it's okay," Annie said in a reassuring tone. "I don't have any family in the area. I actually grew up as an army brat, lived in 10 states and several countries before I graduated high school. My parents are divorced; Mom lives in Atlanta with her new husband and Dad lives in San Francisco. I have some family scattered around the country, but since we moved around so much I'm not really close to any of them. The only person in my family I'm really close to is my older sister, Danielle. Her and her husband and their daughters actually moved to Georgetown last year, I lived in her guesthouse before I moved up here." Annie paused for a second to gather her thoughts. "During my sophomore year at Georgetown I met a guy. He was a first year student at Georgetown Law and we got together pretty fast. We dated for about a year; I broke it off because he was so damn jealous. Possessive really. Whenever I went out with my friends he'd show up with a buddy. In the beginning I thought it was coincidental, but it didn't take me long to figure out that he was watching me. I had a few male friends and he just couldn't tolerate it. My sister made me realize that I shouldn't put up with it and convinced me to break up with him. Unfortunately that only made it worse; he was pretty much stalking me. Since he wasn't about to change schools I decided to get away from him; hopefully get a fresh start somewhere else."

"That's so wrong," Auggie exclaimed before he could stop himself. Although he didn't know Annie very well it pissed him off that she had to move away from her sister and friends to get away from him.

"What?" Annie sounded puzzled.

"That you had to move halfway across the country to get away from him. Did you report him to the police?"

"He never did anything beyond following me around; keeping an eye on what I was doing. While we were still together we had some nasty arguments, but it was never physical. He never caused a scene in public or anything like that, so there was nothing the police could do."

"Ah, I see. He sounds like a real psycho and I think you deserve much better than him."

"Thanks Auggie. Part of me regret that I didn't stand my ground and stay in DC; I miss my friends and my sister and her family." Auggie heard the sadness in Annie's voice and held his right hand out toward where Annie was sitting. A moment later she slid her hand into it and he closed his fingers around it, squeezing it gently.

"Just know that you have at least one friend here, okay? We might not know each other very well, but I'm here if you need it."

"Thanks Auggie. I definitely need a friend," Annie said with a smile in her voice as squeezed his hand back.

* * *

After sitting in comfortable silence for a while Annie decided it was her turn to ask Auggie a question.

"Hey Auggie, I guess it's my turn to ask you a question."

"I guess so," he said with a small smile. "What do you want to know?"

"Have you always been blind?"

Auggie shook his head. "No."

When he didn't say anything else Annie felt like she'd overstepped.

"I didn't mean to pry, I totally understand if you don't want to talk about it."

"It's fine. It's just…well…I've never really had to talk about it. My family and friends knows what happened and I haven't really met many new people lately." Auggie hung his head self-consciously, and then he carried on. "About three and a half years ago a buddy of mine and I was heading home for the weekend. He was driving. A truck hit the car on the driver's side. My friend died on the scene of the accident; I broke my left arm, left ankle and femur and sustained a bad head injury. The arm and leg is back to 100% now. Unfortunately there was nothing that could be done to fix my eyes, the accident left me permanently blind."

Annie didn't know what to say so she grasped Auggie's hand again and squeezed it.

"I was in the hospital for a while, and then I went on to rehab, took a while since I had to get my arm and leg healed and functioning; and then I moved on to learn to live without being able to see. When I'd been in rehab for about six months and had gotten the hang of the basics I moved into my parents' house. The instructors from rehab come over to the house several times a week, to teach me Braille, how to use a computer, orientation and mobility and some other stuff. I started taking classes online as part of the rehab training. Started out with one class and as I got the hang of things I added more classes. Still took me about two and a half years to finish a year and a half of studies, but this spring I finally completed my junior year."

Annie watched as Auggie reached for his beer bottle and took a swig of beer before he placed it back on the table and leaned back against the couch again.

"Anyway, I figured I'd keep taking online classes for my senior year as well, but my parents had different plans for me. Told me I needed to rejoin the real world and get on with my life. I wasn't thrilled about the idea, but I realized Mom had a point; I can't spend the rest of my life behind my computer in my old room at Mom and Dad's house," Auggie chuckled lightly at the end of the sentence. Annie gently elbowed his upper arm.

"You'd probably get sick of each other and living with your folks at age 50 is considered a bit weird. Definitely not a hit with the ladies," she teased.

"I guess you have a point there," Auggie said with a laugh. "And now I'm kind of glad they pushed me to move out and helped me get this place. I guess I just needed a kick in the ass."

"We all do from time to time," Annie said empathetically. "If my sister hadn't sat me down for a serious talk a few months ago I would probably still be in Georgetown, still dating Ben and putting up with his shit."

"I guess we should toast to our families giving us a kick in the ass then," Auggie suggested, holding out his beer bottle in Annie's direction. She clinked her bottle with his and they both took hefty swigs of their bottles.

They ended up spending the rest of the evening at Auggie's place; listening to his big collection of jazz music, chatting and drinking beer. He'd been pleasantly surprised when he found out that Annie shared his love for jazz – he rarely met people their age that liked that genre – and he had a feeling Annie felt the same way. It had been well past midnight when Annie left and headed back to her dorm room.

* * *

_**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think.**_

_**I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter, because I have a busy week ahead; includes several long days at work and a long weekend in Copenhagen with my boyfriend Thursday to Sunday. I've been dating my buddy that inspired 'To Live Again' since December and this will be our first weekend away together. I don't think I'll have much time to write. We'll just have to wait and see how cooperative the muse is. :o)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites the previous chapter received. I'm sorry I haven't responded to any of them, I just haven't had the time; real life took a major left turn last week and derailed the plans for the previous weekend. My boyfriend ended up in the hospital with acute appendicitis and had to have surgery to remove his appendix. Our weekend trip was cancelled and I've spent most of the past week playing nurse. Thankfully he's well on his way to recovery now and I've finally had some time to sit down and write a new chapter. **_

_**PS! I thought it was pretty awesome that a fellow Norwegian won Chris Gorham's profile pic contest on Twitter last week. Fun that he chose a winner among his international fans. :o)**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or Covert Affairs.**_

* * *

**-Chapter 3-**

The next few weeks flew by for Annie and Auggie; they both were swamped with assignments and although they weren't group or pair assignments they could often be found in one of the group rooms in the library, working together. Auggie had quickly realized that his analytic, systematic approach to things and Annie's more creative approach to things meant that they complimented each other well. He appreciated Annie's help when the study materials weren't available in Braille or electronically. She would either read them to him or type them and send them to him via email. To begin with he'd been slightly embarrassed and had felt like he was a hassle when he asked her to help him, but she insisted that she was more than happy to help. Two months into the semester Auggie realized that Annie had become a master of picking up when he needed a little assistance and providing it without making a big deal about it.

It was Friday afternoon and as he made his way out of the library building a familiar voice called out his name. Auggie stopped, pulled his cane upright and placed both of his hands atop the grip. It was his buddy Stu; he was a year younger than Auggie and had moved on to graduate school a year earlier; he was now on his second year of a Masters degree in electrical engineering.

"Hey Auggie! Wait up man."

"Stu! How's it hangin'? Long time no see, so to speak."

"I'm good. I've been pretty busy with schoolwork lately and I've been back home for three birthdays, a baptism and a wedding since school started, so I haven't been around much on the weekends."

Auggie nodded with understanding; Stu's family lived in California, so whenever he went home he tried to take Friday or Monday off school, so he could have at least one full day at home.

"But you're here this weekend?" Auggie queried. It was Friday afternoon, so he had a strong hunch Stu would be staying in Northbrook. Since Annie was going to DC for the weekend, to celebrate her sister's birthday he wouldn't be hanging out with her and figured he'd take the opportunity to catch up with Stu.

"I am. What about you? Going home to your folks?"

"There's a family barbeque tomorrow afternoon, it's my brother's birthday, but I don't have any plans tonight. Wanna go down to the tavern?"

"Sure. It would be nice to finally catch up with you."

"Meet you outside the front door at 7:30?" Auggie asked. "I'd be at a slight disadvantage if I have to find you inside."

"Oh, right. Yeah, that sounds good to me." Stu sounded a bit flustered, but Auggie decided to ignore it and just act normally.

"Awesome. See ya' later Stu."

* * *

"So, how are things going in Illinois?" Danielle asked as Annie settled down by the kitchen island with a mug of coffee. She was happy to be back in her sister's familiar kitchen and arriving back in DC had made her realize her how much she missed Danielle.

"Pretty good," Annie said sincerely. "I like it there."

"No regrets about choosing to transfer to North Shore?"

Annie sighed and had a sip of her coffee before she spoke. She decided to be honest with Danielle.

"Well, I miss you, Michael and the girls and my friends here, but school-wise I don't regret it. I like that it's a smaller college; we're fewer people at most lectures, so it's easier to get in touch with my professors."

"That's great. Have you made any friends yet?"

"A few. To my surprise my closest friend up there is a guy; sort of weird since I swore that I'm done with guys for a while."

"Really?" Danielle looked and sounded surprised. "Well, what's he like?"

"He's a couple of years older than me, and a computer science major. He's sort of a dork, but definitely not your stereotypical computer geek."

"Oh?"

"He's doesn't constantly talk about computer stuff, he's got a great sense of humor and he loves Mingus. He doesn't look like a computer geek either; he's about 6 feet tall, very fit, dark brown hair and eyes."

"Tall, dark and handsome?" Danielle teased. "I bet he doesn't mind being seen around campus with a pretty blonde."

"He has no idea what I look like."

"Huh?" Danielle instantly sounded puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"He's blind."

"He's blind?" Danielle asked with surprise lacing her voice.

"Yeah, he lost his sight in a car accident a few years ago. That's why he's a bit behind on his studies: took him a while to learn Braille and the other stuff he needed to master before he could return to school. We were partners for our first Creative Writing assignment and since then we've just spent a lot of time together. We study together a few times a week."

"Hmmm… I hope you don't have to spend a lot of time helping him. You should focus on your own studies you know."

"It's not like that Dani! Auggie can mostly manage on his own. I read stuff to him sometimes and he usually lets me lead when we walk together. That's about it. It's nicer for both of us when I lead him because he doesn't have to focus as much and we can actually have a conversation. We actually work very well together and for your information I've been getting good grades on all of my assignments so far. I can't believe you're this narrow minded Dani!"

"I'm not narrow minded, I just don't want you to waste your senior year on some charity case."

"Auggie's not a charity case. He's my friend; a good friend, and most of the time I don't even think about the fact that he's blind. Can we please talk about something else? Like how the girls are doing?"

At the mention of her daughters Danielle jumped into a monologue about dance recitals, soccer practices and all the other stuff Chloe and Katia loved to do.

* * *

"Who's the blonde girl I've seen you around campus with?" Stu asked Auggie. They were at a table at Allen's Tavern, sharing a pitcher of beer and a plate of nachos.

"I'm gonna assume you're talking about Annie, although I've got no idea what color her hair is. She's a transfer student from Georgetown. We're in the same Creative Writing class."

"She's really hot Aug, are you aware of that?"

Auggie grasped his beer mug and had a sip of beer.

"I have a feeling that might be the case. We've been out together a few times and I've noticed that she seems to be getting her fair share of male attention." Auggie paused for a second and had a long sip of his beer before she spoke again. "She's beautiful on the inside too. I really like her."

"Plan on making a move anytime soon?"

"No. She just got out of a rough relationship and I'm not really ready for a relationship either. We're just friends."

"I see. Anyway, apart from befriending the hot new girl, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much besides trying to get into the swing of things really. I have to admit I've been struggling to keep up in all of my classes. Some of the professors forget that I need stuff in Braille or electronically, so I have to remind them and then I might get the stuff a day or three later than the rest of the class. It's a bit frustrating. Annie's been a big help though; when we study together she'll read things to me or type it and email it if I need it."

"That's really nice of her," Stu said sincerely.

"Yeah. At first I felt a bit bad and I wondered if she did it out of pity or something, but I've realized it's just Annie being Annie. It's the kind of person she is." Auggie had another sip of beer and Stu pressed a shot of Patron into his hand. He held it out in Stu's direction and he felt Stu clink his glass to his.

"Cheers Auggie. I'm glad to have you back."

"Thanks man. I'm happy to be back."

Stu patted Auggie's shoulder and gestured to the waitress that they needed another round of shots and a pitcher of beer.

Saturday morning his cellphone warbling on the nightstand woke Auggie. His head was pounding and he was feeling a bit nauseous; it was definitely a hangover. Not the worst he'd ever had, but bad enough that he'd probably end up spending a few more hours in bed. He decided to ignore the phone and try to go back to sleep. Whoever it was could wait. Unfortunately the ringing resumed almost as fast as it had finished. With a sigh he groped around on his nightstand until he located the phone and answered it.

"Yeah," he said groggily.

"Hey Aug! Are you ready to go?" It was his oldest brother David.

"Huh?"

"Sheesh, have you forgotten what day it is?"

"Obviously…feel free to remind me," he said as he sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand.

"It's Eric's birthday. Big barbecue at Mom and Dad's."

Suddenly Auggie remembered; it was his brother Eric's 30th birthday and his parents were throwing a big barbecue.

"Shit! What time is it? I went to the Tavern with my buddy Stu last night. We had more than a few shots of Patron judging from the pounding in my head."

"It's 10:30 am. We agreed that we'd swing by and pick you up at 11."

Auggie felt like staying in bed for the foreseeable future, but he realized that wasn't an option.

"You'll be here in about half an hour?"

"That was the plan, yes. We're ready to leave the house now."

"Okay Dave. I'll try to be ready. I'll jump in the shower and throw some stuff together. If I'm not waiting on the sidewalk when you pull up call me, okay?"

"Sounds good. See you in about half an hour."

"Yep. Drive safe," Auggie said and ended the call. With a sigh he headed into the bathroom. Part of him was looking forward to spending some time with his family; he hadn't been at home much since school started, but in his current state a house filled with people didn't sound very tempting.

Just as Auggie finished packing a change of clothes, his toiletries and sleepwear into a backpack when his cellphone rang again. This time he answered it quickly; as he'd assumed it was Dave.

"Hello."

"Hey, are you ready? We just pulled up in front of your building. I'm parked at your two o'clock when you exit the front door."

"I'm ready. I'll be right down." Auggie ended the call and shoved his phone into his jeans pocket before he shrugged into his leather jacket, slung the backpack over his shoulder and grabbed his cane and keys. Five minutes later he was sitting in the back seat of Dave's car.

"Are you okay Aug?" Dave's wife Nicole asked as he buckled in. "You don't look too well."

"It's just a hangover. I downed a couple of Tylenol a while ago, so I'll be okay."

"Out partying last night? Hook up with any hot girls?" Nicole teased.

"I ran into my buddy Stu just as I was about to leave campus yesterday and we ended up at the Tavern. Stu started buying rounds of Patron and I guess I had a few to many."

"Not the greatest way to warm up for an Anderson barbeque slash birthday bash bro," Dave chimed in from the drivers seat.

"No shit Sherlock," Auggie sighed as he leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. "We had a great time and I just didn't think. Where's Audrey by the way?"

"Weekend training camp. Her and Thunderstorm have been doing great this year; we're hoping their success from the outdoor season continues when they move the competitions indoors," Dave answered with pride lacing his voice. His only daughter was 17 years old and a talented rider. She had recently gotten a new horse and together they'd been collecting ribbons and trophies all summer; Auggie's mother had told him about it on more than one occasion.

"Mom mentioned that. I'm sorry I haven't come to see her compete lately. I'll try to make it to one of her competitions soon."

"Her next competition is in a couple of weeks. If you don't have other plans you can tag along with us," Nicole offered.

"I'd like that," Auggie said with a genuine smile. His head was still pounding but he was looking forward to spending some time with his family.

* * *

Sunday morning Danielle drove Annie to Reagan National Airport.

"Will I see you for Thanksgiving?" Danielle asked as she pulled into one of the parking spaces in the drop off area.

"I don't know. It's only a few weeks away and finals are coming up."

"Annie, you can't sit alone in Illinois on Thanksgiving," Danielle pushed.

"I won't be alone Dani, I'm sure there are some other students that aren't going home."

"It's not the same as being with your family and Thanksgiving is a family holiday."

"I'll be here for Christmas Dani. that's all I'm going to promise. I'll see how things develop with schoolwork over the coming few weeks and I'll let you know."

"Okay okay, I'll back off, but please consider coming. We miss you."

"I miss you too. Well, I better get going," Annie said as she stepped out of the car. After grabbing her carry on out of the back seat of the car she hugged her sister tight. They said their goodbyes and Annie headed inside to check in.

* * *

Back in Illinois Auggie was woken by the scent of his mother's cinnamon rolls wafting through the house. With a smile on his face he got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Despite his hangover he'd thoroughly enjoyed the time he'd spent with his family the previous day. It had been a while since all of his brothers, their wives or girlfriends and kids had been gathered, as well as a few other family members. One of the things Auggie had enjoyed the most was being able to share what he'd been up to since he'd returned to school. It felt good to have done something besides sitting in his room, studying online, playing on his computer or listening to music or audiobooks. After a quick shower, shave and brushing his teeth Auggie headed downstairs; most of his brothers had left the previous evening and only Auggie and Eric were left.

Auggie was glad Eric was still there; they were the youngest of the Anderson boys and had been pretty close growing up. For the first few months after his accident Auggie had been angry and uncooperative and had done his best to push his family and friends away. He'd just wanted to be left alone, so he could wallow in self-pity. Eric was the one that had managed to get through to him and had made him realize that life in the dark was better than the alternative and he'd been there for him through his recovery and rehab. Auggie was pretty sure that he was the one that had pushed his parents to make him go back to school; his mother was way to protective of her children to be behind kicking her blind son of the house on her own initiative. He hadn't been able to spend much time with Eric since he went back to school, so he looked forward to spending some time with him.

* * *

**_I hope to be back on my planned Sunday or Monday schedule soon, but I don't think I'll make it with the next chapter. I've got too much on my plate this weekend and won't have much time to write. Maybe I'll get there by chapter 5, I'll do my best._**

**_The mouse loves reviews, red wine and chocolate. I'll do my best to feed her the last two if you guys provide the first one. ;o)_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sorry for taking so long before publishing this chapter. The past week I've been crazy busy at work and the muse haven't been on her best behavior either. I hope her behavior improves over the coming week - I really hope to get back on my Sunday/Monday update schedule next week._**

**_Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. :o)_**

**_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie or Auggie. Just my alternate universe._**

* * *

**-Chapter 4-**

Monday morning Annie was actually early for the Creative Writing lecture and the sight of a familiar head of brown, wavy hair on the back row brought a smile to her face. She quickly headed over to where Auggie was sitting and slipped into the vacant seat next to Auggie. She noticed he inhaled deeply and turned toward her with a smile on his face.

"Good morning Miss Walker," he greeted her cheerily.

"Good morning Auggie, you're in a good mood. I take it you had a good weekend?"

"Excellent! How about you? Did you enjoy spending time with your sister and her family?"

"It was nice seeing them again, but it was pretty hectic. I spent most of Saturday helping my sister preparing the food for the party. I really hope I don't have to prepare crudité trays anytime soon."

"What on earth is crudité?" Auggie asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Oh, it's really just a fancy word for raw vegetable snacks. Danielle's a caterer and for some reason she likes to make things sound more fancy than it really is."

"Ah, I see! Mom makes those sometimes, but she just calls them veggie trays. But apart from cutting vegetables all day Saturday it was a good visit?"

"Yeah it was. I've missed them more than I thought and it was great seeing my nieces again. I wish I'd been able to stay for their dance recital yesterday afternoon, but I couldn't afford an evening flight. What did you do this weekend?"

"I was at the Tavern with my buddy Stu on Friday and I spent most of Saturday and Sunday at my parents' house. It was my brother Eric's 30th birthday, so we had a big barbecue."

"Isn't it a bit cold to have a barbecue now? I mean; it's late October."

"Well, we do barbecues all year round. We just don't eat outside."

"Ah, okay. So you had a good time with your family?"

"Yeah, a very good time. I finally got to catch up with my brother Eric, which was great."

Further conversation was cut off when professor Davies entered the auditorium and started the lecture.

* * *

Tuesday morning Auggie woke with a sore throat, runny nose and a pounding head. He also had a feeling he had a fever. With a sigh he untangled himself from his sweat soaked sheets and padded into the bathroom. He hoped that a hot shower would make him feel better. He was supposed to meet Annie in the library to study and he didn't want to disappoint her by not showing up.

Fifteen minutes later it was clear to Auggie that he should just go back to bed. Although he felt better after showering he didn't feel like leaving his apartment. Instead of getting dressed for school he pulled on a pair of sweatpants and an old Henley shirt and headed over to the kitchen to start a kettle of water. He found the canister in his cupboard that was supposed to hold teabags and sighed with frustration. It was empty. He turned off the kettle and went back to the bedroom and located his iPhone on his nightstand and dialed Annie's number.

"Morning Auggie," she answered cheerily on the third ring.

"Morning. Listen, I'm sorry, but I won't be able to study with you today. I seem to have gotten the flu or a cold or something. I feel like shit."

"Don't worry about studying, just stay in bed, relax and get better, okay?"

"I'll try," Auggie sighed. He paused for a second before he continued. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Well, my cupboards are pretty sparsely stocked and Mom usually does my grocery shopping on Thursdays. Could you pick up a few things for me? I can call Mom, but I don't feel like having her hovering here all week and I know I won't get her out of my hair if she knows I'm sick. Being the youngest means I'll always be her baby and being blind sure doesn't help…" Auggie's voice broke off and he started coughing hard.

"Text me what you need and I'll take care of it," Annie said reassuringly as soon as Auggie's coughing ceased.

"Thanks Annie. I really owe you a huge favor."

"Don't worry about it. Just text me what you need and I'll see you later."

"Thanks again. Later," Auggie said and ended the call.

* * *

A couple of hours later Annie had been to the pharmacy to pick up cough syrup and a couple of other things for Auggie and to the supermarket to buy the groceries he needed. She was glad Auggie trusted her enough to ask her for help, even if she'd only known him for a couple of months it was enough to know that he was fiercely independent and didn't like asking for help. The first few times she'd offered him assistance she'd noticed he'd tried to avoid it unless it was absolutely necessary. Lately she'd noticed that he seemed a lot more relaxed around her and he seemed to have realized that she didn't offer assistance because she didn't think he was capable of fending for himself, but simply because she wanted to make his life a bit easier.

"Hi Annie," Auggie croaked out as he slid the heavy door into his apartment open and stepped back to allow Annie to enter. "I really appreciate this."

Annie quickly surveyed him; he was wearing sweatpants and a faded Henley shirt, his hair was a mess and judging from the dark shade on his jaw he hadn't shaved. She also noticed that his eyes were red and a bit glassy.

"Don't mention is. That's what friends are for," Annie said as she walked past him and gave his shoulder a reassuring pat. "Have you eaten anything today?" she asked as she set the bags down on the kitchen island.

Auggie shook his head. "No. I didn't realize how little food I had here until I started going through the cabinets this morning. I'm glad I didn't have to call Mom. She probably would've 'kidnapped' me back to Glencoe." Auggie air quoted kidnapped with a small smile on his face.

"I see where you're coming from. Most of the time I'm kind of glad my parents live in other parts of the country, but sometimes I wish they were closer."

"I totally get that. Would you mind helping me a bit more?" Auggie asked as he dug through what appeared to be a catchall drawer and pulled out what looked kind of like an old label writer, Annie remembered having one as a kid that embossed raised letters into a hard tape.

"What's that?" she asked Auggie.

"A Braille labeler. If you tell me what things are I'll label them so I know what they are. I usually don't have eyes around."

"Oh, didn't think about that," Annie said as she pulled the last box out of the bag and set it on the counter. She surveyed the items in front of her and realized that most of the stuff would be hard to identify without sight. "Okay, first we have a box of oatmeal." Auggie quickly made the label and handed it to Annie, who stuck it on the box. "Next there are four cans of tomato soup."

For the next half hour they slowly worked their way through the groceries and the stuff Annie had picked up from the pharmacy. After they finished the labeling process Auggie carefully put everything away and then he slumped down on one of the stools by the kitchen island. Annie took it as her cue to leave.

"Okay, I think I should get out of your hair and you should go back to bed or at least lay down on the couch."

"Have to admit bed sounds good, but I should eat something first," Auggie sighed.

"What to you want? I'll fix something for you."

"I'll manage, you've already done more than enough Annie."

"Nonsense Auggie. You're sick; I'm not. Sit there or lay down on the couch while I heat up some soup. Tomato okay?"

Auggie nodded. Annie noticed he was shivering slightly and his eyes were glassier than they'd been when she arrived. She spotted a fleece jacket draped over the back of the couch and quickly retrieved it.

"You're shivering," she said in a way of an explanation as she wrapped it around Auggie's shoulders. "It's the fleece jacket you'd left on the back of the couch."

"Thanks Annie," Auggie said with a weak smile as he pulled the jacket on and closed the zipper. Annie got to work on heating up a can of tomato soup and making a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Auggie heard Annie place a bowl and a plate in front of him.

"Tomato soup in a bowl at your six o'clock and a grilled cheese sandwich on a plate at your two o'clock. Here's your spoon," Annie said, tapping a spoon to the back of Auggie's right hand. He grabbed it.

"Thanks Annie," he said and dug in hungrily. It wasn't until he'd had a few spoons of soup he realized just how hungry he was. He polished off his meal pretty fast and as soon as he put the spoon down Annie asked if he was hungry for more.

"No, I'm good. Thanks Annie. I really can't thank you enough. Now, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not feeling too well and I think I should go back to bed."

He felt a hand on his right upper arm. "I understand Auggie. Do you want me to change the sheets on your bed before you leave?"

Auggie hesitated. He knew the sheets had been soaked with sweat the previous night and going back to bed with those sheets still on it wasn't tempting at all. At the same time he his pride objected letting Annie change his sheets. His pride won out. He was capable of changing the sheets himself after all.

"Thanks for offering Annie, but I can manage that myself."

"I have no doubt you're fully capable of changing the sheets on your bed Auggie," Annie said firmly. "You just figured you didn't feel like making that effort right now."

Auggie sighed and pondered over Annie's statement for a while. He realized that she was being sincere; over the short time they'd known each other she'd treated him like an equal and had never been condescending or made him feel lesser.

"If you really don't mind it would be great if you give me a hand."

"I wouldn't offer if I didn't mean it. Now, where do you keep your sheets?"

Auggie led the way up to the bedroom area of his apartment and headed into his closet to retrieve a set of sheets while Annie pulled the dirty ones off the sheets. Ten minutes later the dirty sheets were in the laundry hamper and the bed was made with clean sheets.

"Okay, I'll get out of here then. Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Will do," Auggie said with a small smile as he accompanied Annie to the door.

"Good. Now back to bed and rest up. I need my study buddy in top shape with finals coming up. Got it?"

"Loud and clear. As soon as you leave I'm going back to bed. Scout's honor." Auggie said with a small smile. He heard the rustle of fabrics as she bent down and put on her shoes. She gave him a quick hug and then she was gone. Auggie closed and locked the door behind her and headed up to the bedroom again. He quickly changed into clean sleepwear and crawled into bed. He was fast asleep within a few minutes.

* * *

_**That's it for now. Please let me know what you think in a review. :o)**_


	5. Chapter 5

_First of all - thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. Love 'em. :o)_

_So sorry for taking so long to publish this chapter. I've struggled with this chapter, this is the third version and I'm still not 100% satisfied with it. Real life have been crazy for the past couple of weeks - have you ever tried moving on a weeks notice? It's a somewhat crazy thing to do and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Now I'm finally somewhat settled into my boyfriend's apartment and I finally had some time to sit down and go over the chapter one last time and clean it up today. _

_Disclaimer: As always; don't own Annie or Auggie or the other characters I've borrowed from Covert Affairs, just my alternate universe._

* * *

**-Chapter 5-**

The Friday before Thanksgiving Annie was trying to focus on the Russian pages in front of her, but her brain felt like it was overloaded and she realized studying was fruitless at the time being. She was slightly overwhelmed with the amount of material she had to get trough to prepare for finals. Fortunately it was still over a week 'till her first exam and since she was staying in Illinois for Thanksgiving she had plenty of time to prepare. Danielle had been less than pleased when Annie called her and told her she wasn't coming to DC for Thanksgiving, but Annie had firmly stood her ground and told her sister she'd see her at Christmas. Thankfully Danielle had realized that she'd lost the battle and hadn't given Annie too much a hard time. When they ended the call Annie was relieved that Danielle hadn't guilt tripped her as much as she'd expected her to. Just as she was about to head out to get something to eat her iPhone started buzzing in her pocket. It was Auggie.

"Hey Aug, what's up?"

"Hey. How do you feel about horses? Show jumping to be more specific."

"Huh?" Annie was confused by the unexpected question and her puzzlement was evident in her voice. "What are you talking about Auggie?"

"Kinda' threw ya' there, did I?" Augge chuckled.

"Umm…yeah. Haven't thought of you as a horse buff."

"My 17-year old niece is a good rider and she's competing this weekend. I haven't been to see her compete in a while and my brother called me last night and asked if I wanted to come this weekend. I'm not all that interested in the riding, but this is a pretty big event and it'll mean a lot to Audrey that I'm there. Since my brother and his wife usually disappear to help her I'm stuck alone on the stands, and I have to say it's not much fun for a blind guy to sit alone at riding competition. Figured both of us could use a break from our books too. I know my brain is about to go on strike."

"Sounds like fun. My sister is the horse buff of the family. Haven't been on a horse since high school though. If I'm not intruding on a family outing I'd love to come."

"You're not. Can you be at my place tomorrow morning at 9? Dave, my brother, said he'd pick us up."

"I can do that. See you tomorrow Auggie."

"Looking forward to it," Auggie said and hung up the phone.

* * *

The following morning Auggie was standing on the sidewalk, half leaning on his cane, when a hand on his arm startled him.

"Hi Auggie," Annie greeted him. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Oh, hey Annie, didn't catch you coming there. I was too caught up in my thoughts. How's your studying going?"

"I'm making some progress, but I'm glad I'm taking today off from it. Appears there's a limit for how much information my brain can process in a short amount of time. I also need to clean up my notes, they're a mess."

"This is the first time since I lost my sight I'm dealing with a full semester's worth of finals at once and I have to admit I'm kind of overwhelmed right now. I used to be pretty visual and now I have to approach things in a completely different way."

"Really?" Annie sounded surprised. "I never would've guessed that. You've adapted well."

"Well, didn't have much of a choice I'm afraid," Auggie said with a shrug. Further conversation was cut off when a silver SUV pulled up to the curb. It was Dave and Nicole. Auggie quickly introduced Annie to them and they buckled into the back seat.

* * *

A few hours later the prize giving ceremony for Audrey's class was over and Annie and Auggie were waiting outside the ring with Dave and Nicole for her to come out. She'd won her class and had to do a double lap of honor before she could join her family.

"So, did you have fun?" Auggie asked Annie.

"Absolutely. It's been years since I've been to a horse show. It'd forgotten how much I enjoy them and Audrey winning added to the fun."

Auggie was relieved to hear that Annie seemed to have enjoyed herself; he'd been slightly concerned that she was just humoring him when she agreed to come but the sincerity of her voice proved differently.

"Glad to hear it. Thanks for coming with us, it was great having company on the stands." Annie's running commentary of what was going on in the ring had made it very enjoyable for Auggie.

"Uncle Auggie!" a familiar voice came from his right.

"Audrey! Great job today. You and Thunder seem to be unbeatable."

"Don't know about unbeatable, but he is the best horse I've ever had and we work really well together. Who's the pretty blonde?"

"Oh, Audrey this is my friend Annie. We study together. Annie, meet my niece Audrey."

Annie flashed a bright smile at the pretty young woman that looked like a younger female version of her uncle and extended her hand in her direction.

"Nice to meet you Audrey. You were great today."

"Thanks Annie. Nice to meet you too. You ride?"

"Years ago. My sister's the real horse buff of our family; she was the one that collected ribbons when we were kids. I just enjoyed being around the horses and treasured it every time I got the opportunity to ride."

"Really? Well, if you're interested I can arrange for horses and we can all go for a ride one day. It's been a while since Auggie and I have been on a ride together."

"Sounds great," Annie said sincerely, the she turned to Auggie. She didn't really think of Auggie as a guy that was into horses. "You ride too Augs?"

"I can manage. Mom grew up on a horse farm and whenever we were there as kids we'd spend most of our time in the stables. My uncle owns it now, he and his son runs it."

"He's one of the top breeders in the US," Audrey chimed in. "And Auggie can more than manage. He's a good rider, but from what I've heard he was more into computers as a kid, my dad was the rider of the family and Auggie was the family nerd."

"I was kind of a nerd," Auggie said self-consciously. "And I got really into wrestling and running in middle school and through high school, so riding was just something I did when we went to see Uncle Charlie."

"You have certain dork-like qualities, but I find it kind of endearing," Annie said with a laugh. "But to be serious I'd love to join you for a ride one day. It's been years since I was on a horse, so I'm kind of rusty."

"It's like riding a bike," Audrey said with a smile. "Although I can't guarantee you'll be able to walk normally the next day. I'd better go take care of my horse and get him ready to load him on the truck. I'll see you at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Thanksgiving Uncle Auggie. Nice to meet you Annie."

They said their goodbyes and she followed Dave and Nicole to the car with Auggie on her arm.

* * *

It was dinnertime when Dave dropped them off outside Auggie's building. They bid him and Nicole goodbye and as he heard the car drive away he turned to face Annie.

"Wanna come to my place? I don't know about you, but I'm starving. We could call for some food and hang out."

"I get the feeling you like my company," Annie said in a tone Auggie wasn't sure was teasing or flirtatious. He wished she was flirting.

"I do. So what do you say?"

"Sure. I'm starving."

They made their way up to Auggie's apartment and after calling for Thai food they settled down on his couch.

"So, what are you doing for Thanksgiving?" Auggie asked. Annie had been going back and forth between going to see her family and staying in DC for weeks.

"I'm staying here. I need the time to study and plane tickets are so expensive around the holidays. I guess I'll hang out in my room and watch the Macy's parade on TV and fix myself something to eat."

"Or you can come with my to Glencoe," Auggie blurted out. He didn't really think before he spoke.

"Oh, I don't want to impose on your family Auggie."

"You won't be imposing. Mom and Dad have always had an open house. They've encouraged us to boys to bring our girlfriends home for the holidays if they're not able to go home to see their own families."

"Girlfriends? Are you trying to tell me something Auggie?"

Auggie felt his face go red as he realized what he'd just said.

"Um…well…I've been thinking about asking you to go on a date with me, but I don't want to ruin our friendship. If you don't feel the same way please just forget that I said something."

"Auggie! I'd love to go on a date with you. You just haven't given me any indication that your feelings for me go beyond being my friend."

"Ditto," he replied. "Well, at least not verbally. If you've been giving me visual cues they're kind of lost on me."

"I might have. I'm glad we're having this talk," Anne said with a smile as she grasped Auggie's hand and squeezed it. He squeezed her hand back before he let go of it and got up from the couch and headed to the kitchen. He returned with two wine glasses and a bottle of chilled white wine.

"Since neither of us really have time to go on a date before Thanksgiving I guess tonight will be our first date."

"Is that so?" Annie asked in a tone that left no doubt that she was flirting.

"Well, it's either tonight or Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. I think I prefer tonight."

Auggie uncorked the wine and poured two glasses, and then he held one out to Annie. He felt her taking it from her hand.

"Thanks Auggie. Good thinking."

* * *

It was close to midnight when Annie kissed Auggie goodnight and headed home. She was still a bit in shock about how the evening had turned out, but she was also very happy. She'd liked Auggie from day one; they'd had an almost instant connection and she really appreciated his friendship. They'd agreed to take things slow and wowed to stay friends even if being in a relationship didn't work. Her mind was working on overdrive when she let herself into her dorm room and she jumped when she flicked on the light and saw a familiar figure sitting on her bed. Ben.

* * *

_Please leave a review and let me know what you think._

_Constructive criticism is always welcome._

_Happy Easter :o)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to those few of you that have left reviews. :o)_

_Couldn't leave that cliffhanger hanging for too long - so here's the next chapter. Had some alone time because my boyfriend was out with his buddies last night and he's spent the morning in bed, sleeping off a hangover. I decided to take advantage of it and get this chapter ready for publishing. The next chapter won't be this quick - Easter break is almost over and tomorrow morning it's back to the grind for us. I'm aiming for next Sunday or Monday. _

_DISCLAIMER: The usual; I don't own Annie, Auggie or any other Covert Affairs character. Just my alternate universe and the characters I've created._

* * *

**-Chapter 6-**

Annie stood frozen just inside the door, a million thoughts rattling through her brain. Ben was here; he'd found her and he'd somehow managed to get in to her dorm room. Suddenly a wave of determination washed over her. This had to end once and for all. She realized she still had her earbuds in her ear and she quickly activated VoiceOver on her iPhone, grateful that Auggie had demonstrated how it worked to her a while back when she'd questioned how a blind guy was able to use a phone with a touch screen, found Auggie's number in her favoriteas and called him. Hopefully he'd pick up the phone and understand what was going on and call the police. It was her best shot. His deep baritone filled her ear just as Ben spoke too.

"Lost the ability to speak Annie?" Ben asked as he got to his feet.

"What the fuck Ben? What are you doing here? How the hell did you get in to my room?"

"I'm visiting my girlfriend. That's allowed, right?"

"You have a girlfriend here?"

"You. I've missed you and when I finally found out where you were hiding I had to come see you."

"You're not my boyfriend and I'm not your girlfriend. That ended a year and a half ago and you know it. You didn't answer my other question; how the hell did you get into my room?"

"The lady at the front desk was most accommodating when I told her I wanted to surprise you. She let me into drop of the roses over there and I snatched your spare keys on my way out."

"I need those keys back right this second," Annie said firmly as she walked across the room and held out her hand.

"What? Your boyfriend can't have a set of keys to your room?"

"You. Are. Not. My. Boyfriend." Annie snarled between gritted teeth. "Keys. Now!" In her ear bud she heard Auggie telling her help was on the way and he told her to hang on for just a few minutes.

"Not before you answer a few questions."

"What makes you think you can demand anything from me? I don't answer to you Ben."

"Who's the blind guy you're spending all of your free time with? Did you get a job as his seeing eye dog or something?"

"He's my boyfriend. How long have you been here, watching me?"

"I've been here for a couple of weeks. What do you mean he's your boyfriend? Are you cheating on me?"

"I'm not cheating on anyone. I'm only seeing one person – 'the blind guy'." Annie air quoted "the blind guy". "Seriously Ben. This has to stop. We're over and we're not getting back together. That will never happen."

Just as Ben was about to say something there was a rap on the door.

"Police, open up." All color vanished from Ben's face as Annie opened the door, revealing two uniformed cops.

"Miss Walker? We got a report there's an intruder here."

Annie pointed to Ben.

"He's my ex-boyfriend, that unfortunately can't seem to accept the ex part. He tricked the lady at the front desk to let him in here to drop off some flowers and stole my spare keys on his way out, so he could let himself back in. I found him sitting on my bed when I got back from a date with my actual boyfriend. I believe he called you."

The cop nodded. After a brief exchange they cuffed Ben and led him out to the waiting squad car. A female detective had arrived shortly after the two uniformed officers and when she and Annie were alone in the room he turned to her.

"Care to elaborate a bit about not accepting the relationship is over, the guy that called us said you'd had problems with him back in DC."

"I started dating him during my sophomore year at Georgetown, he was really possessive but I kind of ignored all the warning signs. My sister finally made me see the light and I broke it off with him. He kept following me, but because he never laid hands on me or caused any kind of scene the police couldn't do much about it. I transferred to North Shore to get a way from him. Seems like there's no escaping him; that no matter where I'll go he'll find me."

"I suggest you file for a restraining order."

"You think a judge will grant it?"

"Based on tonight's incident and what you've told me; yes. I'm assuming you have family and friends in DC that can confirm your story?"

"I do."

"Anything else I can do for you tonight?"

"I don't really feel like spending the night here. Could you drop me off at my boyfriend's apartment? It's not far from campus."

"Of course. Gather what you need and we'll get going."

Annie quickly grabbed a tote bag and threw a change of clothes, her PJ's and toiletries into it.

* * *

Auggie was pacing his apartment; waiting for Annie to call him and let him know how everything had turned out. He felt a rage building inside him; that this Ben guy couldn't leave Annie alone pissed him off. Just as he was about to lose his patience there was a soft knock on his door.

"Who is it?"

"Annie." Her voice was shaky. Auggie quickly unlocked the door and slid it open. Befoe he managed to say anything Annie wrapped her arms around him. He pulled her into a tight hug and they just stood there in silence for a few minutes, then she retrieved her tote bag and closed and locked the door, double checking the deadbolt. They settled down on the couch.

"Thanks for helping me out tonight Auggie. Calling you was the only think I could think of. I was so relieved when you answered the phone."

"How did you manage to call me without Ben finding out?" Auggie had wondered that ever since Annie had called him.

"VoiceOver. I had ear buds in my ears; I'd been listening to music as I walked home and then I remembered you showing me how to activate VoiceOver and use it."

Auggie nodded as he remembered the afternoon a couple of weeks earlier where he and Annie had been at Allen's and she'd asked him tentatively how it was possible for a blind guy to use an iPhone. He was impressed that she remembered it well enough to make a call without Bend finding out.

"Um Auggie?" Annie sounded hesitant.

"Yeah?"

"Can I spend the night here? I can't bear the thought of going back to that dorm room, alt least not tonight."

"Of course you can. Take the bed, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Can we share the bed? I like the idea of having you close to me."

Auggie nodded and stood, extending his hand to Annie. She took it and he lead her up the short flight of stairs to the bedroom area of his studio.

"I'm just going to change into my PJ's," Annie said as she headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Auggie sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for her to come back out. It felt a bit surreal that he'd be sharing a bed with Annie tonight, but he understood her need to have him close. After a few minutes Annie came out of the bathroom.

"I put my tote bag on the counter, far left. Okay?"

"As long as it's not in the middle of the floor so I can trip over it it's fine. If you need towels they're in the cabinet under the sink," Auggie said as he entered the bathroom to brush his teeth. Ten minutes later he climbed into bed and before he'd managed to lay down Annie scooted to his side of the bed and settled in next to him. He heard her sniffling and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She was finally letting her guard down; he'd ben surprised at how calm and collected she'd been since she arrived at his place.

"Hey, it's fine, you're safe and Ben is where he belongs; in jail," he whispered into her hair.

"I can't believe he tracked me down Auggie. He's been here for a couple of weeks. He's seen us together." Her voice cracked. "I'm scared Auggie and I'm angry. Why won't he just leave me alone?"

Auggie sighed. "I don't know Annie. From the part of your conversation I overheard he sounds pretty delusional; he needs help."

"I really didn't think he was this crazy. One thing was to follow me around in DC, but to actually track me down here and trick his way into my dorm room is taking it to another level."

"What did the cops say?"

"The detective I talked to thinks I should file for a restraining order. She said she'd contact me again tomorrow."

"I suggest we try to get a few hours of sleep; it's late and we should get some rest. I'm here and I'll look out for you, so-to-speak."

"Thanks Aug," Annie said. Auggie felt a kiss on his cheek and Annie lay back down with her head on his shoulder. After a while they both drifted off to sleep, Auggie had his strong arms wrapped firmly around Annie.

* * *

When Annie woke up Sunday morning she was disoriented for a second; then the events of the previous night came back to her. She realized Auggie wasn't in bed and then she heard the shower running in the bathroom. Annie got out of bed and headed down to the kitchen area to make a pot of coffee.

"Annie?" Auggie called out from the bedroom, he'd come out from the bathroom and discovered that she wasn't in bed.

"In the kitchen. Figured I'd start some coffee while you showered."

"I knew there was a reason I liked you," he teased as he came down the stairs and joined her. When he tried to pull her in for a kiss she pulled away.

"Morning breath Auggie. Why don't you finish the coffee and I'll shower, brush my teeth and get dressed?"

"Sure. Want some breakfast?"

"Sounds great. Thanks Auggie."

Twenty minutes later they were sitting by Auggie's kitchen island, eating scrambled eggs and toast, when intercom by the door buzzed. Auggie answered it. It was the detective from the night before and he let her in. When she knocked on the door Annie answered and introduced her to Auggie.

"I've got some news for you Miss Walker. Turns out you're not the only woman Mr. Mercer have been stalking. There are warrants for his arrest in several states and there are several women that have restraining orders against him. He'll be behind bars for a while and you won't have any trouble getting a restraining order."

"Wow, I had no idea…" Annie breathed with disbelief. "But he's in law school. With his record like that there's no way he'll be able to get a license to practice law, is there?"

"No. He won't," the detective confirmed. "He'll be transferred back to DC as soon as possible, but he's not going back to his dorm room at Georgetown anytime soon. Speaking of dorm rooms. Here are the keys he snatched from your room."

The detective held out Annie's spare keys in her direction and she took them.

"Thanks."

They exchanged a few more words and the detective had Annie sign some paperwork to confirm she was pressing charges for stealing her and filing for a restraining order against Ben.

After she'd left Annie leaned into Auggie's side.

"Wow, that was unexpected," she said. "I though Ben was smart enough to stay on the right side of the law since he was in law school."

"Surprised me too. I've never met the guy, but from what you told me about his behavior back in DC I also thought he was being careful. At least you won't have to worry about him anymore."

"I hope not. It felt like I was thrown back to the life I had for the past year in DC when I saw him in my room. I don't wanna go back to that."

"You're not going back to that Annie. He's being sent back to the east coast and you're safe here. I don't think we'll get much studying done today, so why don't we just take a break?"

"Yeah, sounds like a good idea. Any ideas of what to do?"

"Why don't we take a walk around town, maybe catch a matinee of they're showing something we both want to see and then we can have a late lunch somewhere after? My treat."

"I'd love that. Thanks Auggie."

* * *

_The "Ben-crisis" is over. A&A can focus on building their new relationship and their finals._

_Please leave a review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism is always welcome._


	7. Chapter 7

_Can you believe it? I'm actually on schedule with my update this week. :o)_ _Thanks for the feedback on the previous chapter - much appreciated as always. _

_Auggie's thoughts on riding are taken from an interview I read with the Norwegian rider Anne C. Ore just before the Paralympics in London last year. She lost her sight as a teen and is one of Norway's top para-dressage riders. She also competes with sighted riders, with good results. She said in the interview that when she's on a horse it's one of the few times she doesn't depend on a cane or holding on to someones arm; the horse is her eyes and she feels very independent when she rides._

_DISCLAIMER: I don't own Annie, Auggie or any other character borrowed from Covert Affairs. Just my universe and characters._

* * *

**-Chapter 7-**

"Auggie!" his mother exclaimed when she opened the front door. "Since when do you use the front door? Or ring the door bell for that matter?"

"Well, I wanted to make a good impression on Annie and I know how you feel about visitors in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. Mom, meet my girlfriend Annie Walker. Annie, this is my mother Carol."

"Nice to meet you Annie," Carol said with a warm smile as she shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you too Mrs. Anderson. Thank you for letting me come here today."

"Our pleasure. We've always had an open house for our sons and their girlfriends. Come on in," she stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. After she closed the door behind them she turned to Auggie. "Everyone is in the living room. I'm going back to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner, so you'll have to introduce Annie to the rest of the family."

"Okay Mom." Carol patted his arm and headed back to the kitchen while Auggie helped Annie take off her coat and hung it in the closet for her.

"Ready?" Auggie asked her after he'd hung his own coat beside Annie's.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, nerves evident in her voice. Auggie wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. "Don't worry. They'll love you."

"Whatever you say…" Annie said as she let Auggie lead her into the living room. They were barely over the threshold before Auggie's brothers greeted them both warmly. Auggie was on the receiving end of several bear hugs.

"Sheesh guys, you're acting like I've been lost for years or something. Behave, I don't want you to scare off my girlfriend."

"Hey, you've been a stranger since you moved to Northbrook; you've barely been home. Most of us haven't seen you since my birthday," Eric stated.

"School's been keeping me busy. This is the first full semester I've taken on since I lost my sight and even though I'm getting pretty good at Braille studying still takes more time than it used to."

"Yet you managed to find time to hook up with Annie."

"We're in a couple of classes together and one of the professors paired us up for an assignment. That's how we met. We became friends and things just developed from there. It's not like I went barhopping to pick up girls," Auggie said defensively. He felt a bit annoyed with his brother.

"So, Annie. Auggie said you're from DC?" Eric turned his attention to Annie.

"Well, I don't know exactly where I'm from. I grew up as an army brat and we lived in several states and countries before I graduated high school. But I transferred from Georgetown to North Shore this fall."

"I see. Where does your family live now?"

"My sister lives in Georgetown with her husband and two daughters, Mom lives in Atlanta with her new husband and Dad lives in San Fransisco. They're scattered and the only one I keep in regular touch with is my sister. I lived in her guest house last year."

The inevitable question about why she'd chosen to transfer to North Shore came up and Auggie gave a brief version of the story. Annie was still a bit shaken from the incident with Ben and wasn't really ready to talk about it, so she was grateful that Auggie did it.

* * *

The rest of the day was filled with the Macy's parade, a huge meal and the Thanksgiving Day football game and it was late in the evening when Eric dropped Annie and Auggie off outside his building.

"Wanna come upstairs?" he asked when he heard the car pull away from the curb.

"Sure. I'd love some you and me time."

"Awesome," Auggie said as he unlocked the front door and opened it. When the reached his apartment Annie curled up in what had become 'her' corner of the couch and Auggie went into the kitchen to grab a couple of beers. He offered one to Annie and she took it with a grateful smile.

"Thanks Aug. And thanks for today; I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I know Thanksgiving at our house can be a bit chaotic and overwhelming."

"I loved it. I've always dreamed of having big family gatherings like that, but since I really don't know much of my family and my parents are like mortal enemies it's usually just me, my sister and her family and one of our parents."

"Growing up I sometimes dreamed about being an only child, or maybe just one brother, but now I wouldn't have it any other way. My brothers were a great support after my accident, especially Eric."

"I got the feeling that you two are close."

"Well, he's the one that's closest to me in age, we were pretty close growing up. He was the one that got me to realize that life without seeing was still a life worth living. I'm grateful that he had the guts to give me a kick in the ass when no one else did."

"Was he the one that made you go back to school?"

"I have a strong feeling he was behind it, Mom's way too protective of me to have come up with the idea to make me move out. Sometimes when she comes over with my groceries I get the feeling she'd prefer to have me back home, but she seems more relaxed about it after we became friends. Especially after you helped me out when I was sick a while back."

"Isn't it a mother's prerogative to worry about her children?"

"I guess so."

"I'm really looking forward to Saturday by the way." Audrey had invited them to go on a ride and they'd bot accepted.

"Me too. It's a bit cold outside, but not too bad. We'll just cut the ride short if we feel like our toes are about to freeze off."

They chatted for a little while longer and then they went to bed. Annie borrowed one of Auggie's old t-shirts to sleep in and within minutes of their heads hitting the pillow they were fast asleep; Annie's back was against Auggie's front and he'd wrapped his arms around her. It was as intimate as they'd get for now; they'd decided to take their relationship slow and neither of them were ready to take the relationship to a more intimate level.

* * *

Annie watched in awe as Auggie moved around his uncle's stable; it was obvious it was familiar territory to him and he got his horse ready with just minimal assistance. When she'd met him outside his apartment that morning she'd been surprised to see him wearing a fleece sweater, a down west, pair of well-worn full seat breeches and winter riding boots. For some reason she hadn't expected him to wear proper riding gear.

"You've done this before," Annie said from the stall across the aisle as Auggie secured the bridle on his horse and made sure all the straps were adjusted correctly.

"This is something I could do with my eyes closed before. I spent a lot of time in this stable growing up, so I know it like the back of my hand."

"Makes me feel like a clutz," Annie said. "My meager experience obviously can't measure up to you and your super-rider niece."

"It's just a ride on the trails around the farm Annie. You'll do just fine."

Before she could say anything else Audrey came down the aisle with Thunder in tow.

"Hey guys. Ready?"

"Good to go. Lead the way Audrey," Auggie said as he gathered the reins and followed the sound of Audrey's horse out to the courtyard outside the stable. Annie followed behind them.

Auggie was thoroughly enjoying himself as he followed Audrey and Thunder down the trail. It had hit him a while back that when he was riding he didn't think much about that he couldn't see. The horse was his eyes and avoided obstacles for him. He actually found kind of empowering to know that he could still control the big animal under him, despite his disability. He remembered the first time he'd been on a horse after he'd lost his sight; he'd been scared shitless, but Audrey had been very persuasive. He was grateful she'd persuaded him to get back in the saddle.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Annie said as she came up next to him.

"I am. What about you?"

"I'm having a great time. And I'm re-discovering several muscles I didn't remember were there. I'm not sure I'll be able to walk normally tomorrow."

"You're not alone in that department. It's been a while since I've been on a horse, so I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow too."

"I have to admit I was kind of surprised to see you in full riding gear."

"I used to insist on riding in jeans, but after I worked here for a summer during high school; riding several horses a day, I realized that full seat breeches are the most comfortable option. Not the most manly pants around though."

"You wear them well," Annie assured him, with a slight teasing tone to her voice."

"Thank you Walker," he replied with a laugh. They rode in silence for a while until Audrey suggested they should head back. On the ride back Annie said she felt confident enough to do a gallop stretch and Auggie felt the adrenaline cursing through his body as they flew down the trail. When he approached the curve he knew was coming Audrey told him to slow down to a trot and then a slow walk. They let out their reins and let the horses cool off for the last bit before they were back at the stable.

* * *

Audrey drove them back to Auggie's apartment and they headed upstairs to shower and change. After they'd both showered they ended up in a rather heavy make out session on Auggie's bed. He had a feeling Annie had left a hickey on the side of his neck.

"Annie, tell me the truth; is this a hickey?"

"Mhmmm… I'd stick to collared shirts for a few days if I were you," she relied in a slightly flirtatious tone, kissing the hickey softly.

"Thanks for that."

"Or you could always wear a scarf."

"Do I look like the scarf-wearing type?" he scoffed.

"Says the guy that just wore full seat breeches in public. Seriously Auggie?"

"That's different. Breeches are sports equipment; like shin protectors for soccer players or a tennis racket."

"Yeah yeah... Keep telling yourself that."

"Whatever you say Ms. Walker. I think you appreciated the view..." Auggie's tone was flirty and he winked in her general direction.

"You got me. Collared shirt it is then. It's not that bad Aug. It'll be gone soon."

"I'm just glad this happened after we spent Thanksgiving with my family. Showing up at a family gathering with a hickey is awkward."

"I can imagine your brothers would get a kick out of that."

"No shit. I made the mistake once, while I was in high school. Thought I'd never see the end of it; they gave me hell for it for weeks. Anyway; what do you want to do tonight?"

"Tavern? It's been a while since we've been there."

"Sounds like a plan to me. I'm sure it's pretty quiet there tonight, it usually is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, the crowd there seems to be mostly college students and I guess most of them are at home, celebrating with their families."

"That or they're preparing for their finals."

"Or that. We really need to study tomorrow, so we shouldn't have too much to drink."

"I know, I just think a change of scenery would be nice."

"Agreed. We'll grab a bite to eat, have a couple of beers and head home early."

"Deal."

* * *

_I struggled a bit with this chapter and I'm really lost on where to take this story next. If you have any ideas - please share them with me! No promises for when the next chapter will be up, hopefully the muse will come up with something over the next week. Fingers crossed! ;o)_


End file.
